Chip conveyor



MN United States Patent Primary Examiner-Hugo O. SchulzAttorney-Woodhams, Blanchard and Flynn 1 ABSTRACT: A chip conveyorhaving conveyor rods movable back and forth on a stationary guide railmounted on the base of a conveyor trough. The conveyor rods are providedwith pushing blades which occupy only a part of the trough crosssection. The conveyor trough is provided with a curved portion whichextends in the vertical direction and is also provided with a taperedstraight portion which reduces in cross section and is positionedadjacent the entrance end of the curved portion. The conveyor includes aplurality of short hingedly connected coupling members provided in thecurved portion of the conveyor trough, which coupling members arehingedly mounted on guide blocks slidable on the stationary rail, Thecurved portion of the conveyor trough is provided with 21 cover thereonand the cover and the sidewalls of the curved portion of the conveyortrough are each provided with holding blades thereon, which holdingblades are pivotable inwardly toward the wall and the cover in thefeeding direction of the conveyor.

Pa tnted Nov. 24, 1970 Sheet 1 014 Ptented Nov. 24, 1970 sheet z 01 4INVENTOR. 1 /5 1447 4884059 BY MM away Patented Nov. 24,1970 1 3,542,137

Sheet ,3 I of 4 INVENTOR. #[l MZ/Tf/ 488M156 wk M97? Patented Nov. 24,1970 3,542,187

I Sheet of 4 75v Fig.6

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INVENTOR. A/[l MUfi/ 143.94%?

%/ZZ MA% V This inyention relatesnto a chip, conveyor comprisingconveyor rods reciprocating or moyin'g'back and forth on the base ofaconveyor trough, andtsliding. on stationary guides of the,troughfbottorn said rods beingproyided with pushing blades which fillonly'a ,part.of-th'etroughcross section and which, in flthe zone ofatransition curvelwhich isinclined in avertical .direction are.eonneeted through shorter intermediate :coupling members whicharejointedly positioned in guide blocks. n v i Chip conveyors, as this isknown, formhuge transporting I units which. by means of a.horizontalconveyor section, transport large an ountsof metal chips to aso-calledzcrusher in which the curl-shaped chips. are broken up intosmall .pieces. .These crusher's are maehine'sof large dimensions. Asarule it is necessary to place thesec rushers inpits below ground levelso that the chips. can .bethrown into the. machine. immediatelyastheyicome from the,conveyor. This construction is often not i possiblebieeauseoffthesiaace required and theexpense int lyolved, also forreasons .of operational requirements; particuv flarly in case ofa laterinstallation ofchip conveyors.

I It is already known.toconstructchip conveyorsin such a i mannerthatinclined conveyor-sections canbe installed. Short conveyor rodsareii-such casejointlyconnected on a section of a transitioncurye b tween ahorizontal and an inclined conye,yor trough so that theycanfollow aninclined portion of the conveyorqtrough l loweyer, thisprocedurejs not:sufficient to allow a steep sectionwjthja shorttransitioncurve The,basic purpose .of-theinvention is to-produceachip conveyor whic h' requires the least possible space and consists of, simple and, sturdystrueturalparts which makesit possible, in a short sectionwithsteeply.inclined transition curves, or with steeplyinclinedeonyeyorsections, to.obtain in spite of the inclinatiQmasafe operation andahighconveyoroutpuL, Y For this purpose, "the: conveyor trough which iscovered on topis accordingto the invention tapered in crosssection-before'the start ofithe transition curve and the trough wall andcover are provided with pivotable holding blades.

Due to the .taperihg in cross section ,at the e'ntrance to the.transitionicurye, at first a certain concentration of the chips is.obtained which notonly results in a better transporting action but alsooyereornes.greati differences in height over a short :distance.Theaecurnulationfofichips to be conveyed which formsattheinelined-eection. is met by a larger number of pushing blades-and thetrough wall carries in relatively short intervals a correspondinglylargernurnber of pivotable holding blades..Also,.further .holding-blades can be provided on the coyen. This results in. a t'oothlikeengagement so, 'that the masses of chips are conveyed safelyand witharapid conveyfree movability, the jointed ends of the lateral, pivotablepushing blades and the pushing blades directed toward the coverarecovered by protective plates. I

In order to achieve the desired collapsed position, the protectiveplates of =the pivotable pushing blades can advantageously, according tothe invention, form the stops for the collapsing movement of same.

lf, furthermore, according to the invention, the pushing blades directedtoward the cover are arranged in an offset manner to the lateral pushingblades, there is obtained a free and effective'changing of the bladeengagement and there is further obtained a smooth, nonreversingadvancement of the chips.

The invention is illustrated in one embodiment in the drawings, inwhichr l FIG. 1 is a longitudinal view looking toward the conveyorrods/ofa portion of the chip conveyor for use with a transition curve,said curve comprising several linked intermediate coupling membersconstructed according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of FIG. 1'; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view alongthe line 3-3 of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along the line4-4 of F l0. 1; FIG. 5 schematically illustrates the construction of thetrough'of the chip conveyor of the invention at the transition curvewith a conveyor section which is inclined in the vertical direction;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the conveyor trough accordingto line6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 isa partial cross-sectional view of a detail along the line 7-7of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of a detailed along the line8-8 of FIG.6; and

' side but the trough section 1', the transition curve 2 and theinclined section 3 are closed by a, cover 24.

A back and forth moving conveyor rod 6 which slides on a stationaryguide rail 5 is arranged on the base or the bottom wall4 of the troughsection 1 or 3. The conveyor rod 6 comprises p'ushing blades 7 and 8which take up only a portion of the trough cross section.

ing action.,through, .1-thefinclined section, Furthermore, the

jprop ellingof small chips is assured by the coherent masses. of

" chips which cannot escape inthe upward direction. Thus, no breakdownsoccur. I v v A favorablednterengaging relationship of thepushing bladesandthe holdingblades is obtainedaccording to the invention inthattheholdi'ng blades which are arranged on the sidewalls and on the coveran dgthe pushing blades of the conveyor rods alllpoint towarglltheioenter gone of the 'trough and additional holding blades,areprovided onthe sidewalls of the trough and are directed toward theconveyor rod. r v ln'orderto arrangethe pushingjblades in favorableshort intervals and to makepossible the use ofsteep inclination on thetransition curve, withoutalifting offand locking of the conveyorrod bythe occurrence of a concentration of chips in said transition curve,afurther embodiment of the invention proyides that the intermediatecoupling membersof the conveyor rods areformed byshortchain sidebarswhich are connected in pairs'by ahead plate whichchain side bars-carrybymeans ofbearing ears pivotable, lateral pushing blades or pivotablepushing bladeswhich 'aredirected toward ,the cover of the conveyortrough. r I :ln order to advantageously,protectthe pushing bladesunderneath the chipmasses for the purpose of an undisturbed The guiderail 5 extends uniformly along the inclined transition curve 2. Theconveyorrod 6 is continued in the zone of v said vertically orientedtransition'curve 2. A straight conveyor rod 6 is again connected to theend of the transition curve 2. The number of intermediate couplingmembers 9 within transition section 1' and transition curve 2 isdetermined corresponding'to the stroke of the conveyor rod so that theflexibility of the conveyor rod section which is formed by theintermediate coupling members 9 is fully achieved during the movementthereof.

Y The guiderail 5 is secured to the bottom 4 of the conveyor trough 1 bythe mounting plate 5". The rail head 5." has a circular cross'section(FlGS.-4 or 6). The guide blocks 10 are 7 -slideably positioned ontherail head 5".

The intermediate coupling members 9 are formed by chainlike side bars 11(FIGS. 1 and 21 which are comprised of flat, offset single members andeach two oppositely positioned chain side bars are connected on aportion of their length by means ofa common head plate 12 to form onechain member.

The ends of the chainlike side bars 11 of the intermediatecouplingmembers 9 form a chain joint and are supported on Said pushingblade 15 is Supported movably about the pivot 16 (FIG. 1) on the ear 17which is secured to the head plate 12. The slot of the ear is covered bya protective plate 18 which is used as a stop for the end 15" of theblades 15 when in the pivoted-in position. The pushing blades 15 canmove freely into the position indicated in dash-dotted lines and have anedge 15' which is inclined toward the top. In this pivoted-out position(FIG. 1), the blades are supported with their edge 15" against the headplate 12 which extends under the ear l7.

Another construction of the intermediate coupling member consists ofapair ofchainlike side bars 11' which are also combined with a head plate12' to form a chain member. Bearing cars 19 are provided on the outsideof the side bars 11' for laterally pivotable pushing blades 20. Same aresecured by pivots 21. The slot of the car 19 is also covered by aprotective plate 22 so that the pushing blades 20 are also supportedthrough their edge 20" against the protective plate 22 when in thepivoted-in position and, when in the pivoted-out position, are supportedwith the inclined edge 20" on the supporting side bar 11. Thus, thepushing blades 20 can also move freely ifsuitable forces act on the edge20' of the blades.

The conveyor trough comprises, according to FIG. 6, trough sectionswhich are manufactured in so-called shots and the sidewalls 3 ofwhichare united through the bottom 4 of the trough.

The guide rail is provided on the bottom 4 of the trough sections. Atrough-shaped cross section is achieved by means of inclined installedguiding walls 25. Holding blades 26, 27 are arranged in a suitableposition both on the sidewall 3' and also the guiding walls 25. Saidholding blades are freely movably pivotably supported on stationary cars29, 30 and face in the feed direction. The holding blades swing, as thisis illustrated in FIGS. 78, from the position illustrated in full linesto the position illustrated in dash-dotted lines. The free ends of theblades are of an acute shape; on the other side of the joint pivot theholding blades form stop edges for their backward and also forwardpivoted position.

At the trough section with the tapered cross section, which troughsection is positioned before the transition curve and also at theinclined section, the trough is rigidly connected on its upper side tothe cover plate 24. Holding blades 28 which are also pivotable arearranged in the same manner above the inclined section and are of thesame construction as above described. being pivotally mounted on cars 31on the trough cover plate 24.

The operation of the above-described chip conveyor system is as follows:

The common conveyor structure which is provided on a horizontal conveyorsection and which consists of the conveyor rod 6, feeds or movesforwardly, chips and balls of chips in a known manner so that duringforward movement the chip balls are engaged in a barblike manner by theblades of the conveyor rods and are carried along whereby the smallchips and possible core pieces are also engaged. During the returnmovement of the structure the chips, due to their weight and theirfriction, remain stationary in the trough. The conveyor rods return andthen again move forward taking along the chips for another step. Thepivotability of the pushing blades or in feed direction results in aself-acting or automatic spreading of the blades during forward conveyormovement, while movement in the return direction results in a pulling inof the blades.

In the inclined conveyor section, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the straightguide rail 5 merges into a curved rail section, the socalled transitioncurve. The conveyor structure consists in this section of the shorterintermediate coupling members 9, namely, in a section which correspondsin its length at least to the forward stroke length or movement of theconveyor structure.

Both the transition curve 2 of the conveyor trough and also its inclinedsection 3 are provided with pivotable holding blades 26, 27. Furtherholding blades 28 are also preferably arranged on the cover 24 in theinclined section 3.

The pushing blades 15 and the horizontally pivotable holding blades 26of the trough are used interchangeably throughout the entire lengthofthe conveyor section 1', Zand 3.

The trough section 1' effects at the entranceto the transitioncurve acertainc'oneentration of the chips due to a reduction of the crosssection which results in a better transporting action on the inclinedsection.

During the back and forth movement of the conveyor, the balls of chipsare first during the forward movement dragged over several holdingblades 26, 27 which thereby swing into the position illustrated indash-dotted lines in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. As soon as the conveyor structuremoves backward and the chips follow in said movement, the stationaryholding blades 26, 27 and 28 which are provided on the conveyor troughswing out, penetrate into the balls of chips and hold same. The pushingblades 15 and 20 of the intermediate coupling members 9 are released(and swing in) and with the conveyor structure pass by several holdingblades 26, 27 and 28 without a catching action and move back to theirinitial position.

This results in a satisfactory conveying of the chips which form ballsparticularly easily in front of the inclination section. Also due to theconcentration of the balls of chips, a conveying of the small chips onthe inclined section is easily assured because, since the trough iscovered, the balls of chips cannot shunt.

Although a particular preferred embodiment of the invention has beendisclosed above for illustrative purposes, it will be understood thatvariations or modifications thereof which lie within the scope of theappended claims are fully contem plated.

I. claim:

1. A chip conveyor comprising conveyor rods moving back and forth on thebase of a conveyor trough and sliding on stationary guides on the troughbottom, said rods being provided with pushing blades which fill out onlya part of the trough cross section and which, in the zone of atransition curve which is inclined in the vertical direction, areconnected through shorter intermediate coupling members which arehingedly connected on guide blocks, the conveyor trough being covered ontop and tapered in cross section before the start of the transitioncurve, and the trough wall and the cover having holding blades pivotableinwardly in the feed direction.

2. A chip conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the holding blades arearranged on the sidewalls and on the cover and the pushing blades of theconveyor rods point to the center zone of the trough, and additionalholding blades are directed toward the conveyor rod and are provided onthe sidewalls of the trough.

3. A chip conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the intermediatecoupling members of the conveyor rods are formed by short chainlike sidebars which are connected in pairs by a head plate, which chainlike sidebars carry by means of bearing ears pivotable laterally extending bladesand pivotable blades directed toward the trough cover.

4. A chip conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the inner ends of thepivotable pushing blades are covered by protective plates.

- 5. A chip conveyor according to claim 4, wherein the protective platesof the pivotable pushing blades form the stops for the pivoting-inmovement of same.

6. A chip con-veyor according to claim 3, wherein the pushing bladesdirected toward the cover are arranged in an offset manner relative tothe lateral pushing blades.

7. A conveyor for moving material in a forward direction from a firstposition to a second position, comprising:

a trough-shaped conveyor housing extending between said first and secondpositions, said housing including a curved portion which extends in thevertical direction and a straight tapered portion which reduces in crosssection in said forward direction and is connected at its reduced end tothe entrance end of the curved portion;

a cover fixedly secured to said trough-shaped housing and extendinglongitudinally at least throughout the length of the tapered portion andthe curved portion;

a stationary guide rail fixedly positioned within said housing andfixedly secured to the bottom wall thereof, said guide rail extendinglongitudinally of said housing between said first and second positions,said guide rail including a sub-' stantially straight rail portionextending through the tapered portion of said housing and a curved railportion extending through the curved portion of said housing;

conveyor means positioned with said housing and slidably mounted on saidguide rail for back and forth movement relative thereto, said conveyormeans extending longitudinally of said housing between said first andsecond p'osi- 1 said conveyor mea'ns'further including a plurality ofguide I holding means secured to the tapered portion and the curvedportion of said housing formaintaining the material in an'advancedposition and preventing reverse flow thereof toward saidfirst position,said holding means comprising a plurality of holding blades pivotallymounted onthe cover and on the opposite sidewalls of the tapered andcurved portions of the housing, said holding blades extending inwardlyinto the cross section of the trough and being pivotal between a firstposition wherein the blades are folded and lie adjacent their respectivewalls and extend in the forward direction and a second position whereinthe blades extend outwardly toward the central portion of the troughcross section to prevent reverse flow of material.

